after 5 years it's time to build another silent computer as the old one is dying too soon.(long story short: Nexus PSU already replaced 3 times in warranty, what a crap! Gigabyte extra durable is anything but!)

Here's my current shortlist:

case:- CoolerMaster Silencio 352 (microATX - Mini-ITX). Either run fanless or with 1 or 2 very slow inlet fan(s)rationale: needs to be a compact tower model, maximum microATX, needs a 5.25" and a 3.5" bay, sober look for the living room

disk- Crucial 500 M.2 120GB or 240GBrationale: since the mboard has this interface, I might as well enjoy the speed

OS:- linux (not decided yet on debian testing or a ubuntu derivative with a sane interface)rationale: it's what I use

I'm going to order parts shortly as my current setup is starting to fail more and more. It's been 5 years since I looked at PC hardware, do tell me if I'm doing something stupid. I'll also post a review of this setup if I make it

case:- CoolerMaster Silencio 352 (microATX - Mini-ITX). Either run fanless or with 1 or 2 very slow inlet fan(s)rationale: needs to be a compact tower model, maximum microATX, needs a 5.25" and a 3.5" bay, sober look for the living room

Not a very good build quality, and cramped to work inside, it also sports a below average stock fan: it's not a very good pick, but it's very cheap also.

See previous comments. To be really effective, It does require a convenient airflow, particularly on load, such an airflow that the Silencio 352 more probably that not cannot provide (at an acceptable noise level).

I picked the case mostly based on the size, it's about the smallest tower I could find with a 5.25 and 3.5 bay. They are meant to hold an optical drive (BD writer) and a multi-card reader. So not expecting heat from them. There will be no spinning disk in there at all.

Yes I read about the fans not being good but I still have some spare good ones so kinda planning to not use those anyway.

The CPU was picked as a balance between performance and energy, this system isn't for gaming, more development and the occasional VM, so only short bursts of CPU load. Which is why I was betting on doing without a fan on the CPU.

Maybe I overlooked other cases that are compact, offer the 2 bays I want and would work fanless? I already spent too many nights searching

Ah, then a NoFan might make sense, if the price is right. Still, with fans in there, don't overspend to make the CPU "fanless". Do you really need an i7? A four core i5 wont cut it? Need HT also? A normal i5 would be cheaper and faster in most applications. Don't pay too much attention to the TDP numbers. With a large cooler underclocking is an option, not a requirement for quiet operation.

I picked the case mostly based on the size, it's about the smallest tower I could find with a 5.25 and 3.5 bay. They are meant to hold an optical drive (BD writer) and a multi-card reader. So not expecting heat from them. There will be no spinning disk in there at all.

With about no moving parts inside, the meshed twin CM N200 may offer a greater cooling prowess.

Pétur wrote:

Yes I read about the fans not being good but I still have some spare good ones so kinda planning to not use those anyway.

I hope they are PWM ones, because (as already said) 3 pin ones usually will run at least at 50% of their rated speed (i.e. pointlessly fast).

Pétur wrote:

The CPU was picked as a balance between performance and energy, this system isn't for gaming, more development and the occasional VM, so only short bursts of CPU load.

Only you may know whether you actually need 8 computing threads: 98% of times (maybe more) 8 threads are pointless.

The only change i would do is the motherboard, i think for linux i would like more to have control of the case fans with pure bios, for this i would go with MSI H97M-E35 (still has a PCI on the bottom as the Asus), get a 2x Nocuta NF-S12A PWM use the included PWM fan splitter on the noctuas and connect both fans to CPU_FAN header, the only true PWM fan header on the motherboard, enter the bios go to monotring and into CPU_FAN header, enter 12.5% as the minium PWM threshold, this should drop the fans to to 250rpms or so, should be inaudible, and you can define the ramping of the fans on the bios according to the CPU temp.

If you decide to go with more than 2 fans, then consider instead of using the Nocuta PWM fan splitter, to use a GELID 4-Pin PWM Splitter CA-PWM-03 and connect it to CPU_FAN header as its the only true PWM fan on the motherboard.

I'm also going to check CPU options again, though the TDP values all fall in the same range...

Yeah, plenty of good stuff in the 0-85W range.

Seriously, look at price first. Factory underclocked only makes sense in a few select cases, like if you want to combine a small cooler and silence, or if you have to stay within a minimal power envelope, or if you want to go full load 24/7 and want to keep power down and are unable to underclock/undervolt with your motherboard of choice. They all idle the same.

edit: I remember again, picked the silencio for its better front dustfiler as I had the feeling I might need to push some fresh air into the case

Please take note that sucking air through a restricted inlet is usually rather uneffective (particularly with a passive CPU heatsink), and that causes a noticeable amount of noise: in case, probably you may do better if you'll find a suitable dust-filter (DEMCIflex? Silverstone?).

Please take note that sucking air through a restricted inlet is usually rather uneffective (particularly with a passive CPU heatsink), and that causes a noticeable amount of noise: in case, probably you may do better if you'll find a suitable dust-filter (DEMCIflex? Silverstone?).

My current system (Antec SLK3000B) also has an intake fan at the front, with filter, and it has indeed a bit of airflow noise, so I'm quite aware of that. But I also see the dust the filter catches so the filter is a must. I'll keep those alternative filters in mind.

My idea was to see how far I get with the bare minimum airflow and go from there. From what I've read so far I can probably forget fanless operation (really liked that case at http://haxx.eu but sadly my wife doesn't).

Tossing out the NOFAN cooler, on doing more research I found several user reviews and even a review site that called it a low quality cooler. Also beginning to question that company as their cases seem to be just rebranded, so they only make one ok cooler and one lower quality one? Hmmm...

So I'll go for a cooler + fan, options are open and the research is on

Edit: I might actually try to re-use the HR-01 plus of my current setup, is there any reason not to? It's handling my X4 940 (TDP 125W) quite well with just a slow RPM fan.

If you want a heatsink that would allow you to drop the fan extremly low, below 400rpms on PWM signal, then consider Noctua NH-U14S, its has very good range of operation, its fairly slim or not as wide as some coolers that go over the memory, you can check SPCR review on it, Noctua NH-U14S Slim 140mm Tower Cooler.

I would strongly suggest you reconsider Asus for linux, their fan control on bios is not that great, MSI is much better option, specially to be not OS dependant, you can install whatever distro you want and the bios will still govern the fans fine.

Conclusion is that going for DDR3L would mean a saving of 2-3W maximum under load, and less when idling (for a pair of dual-channel ram). Not sure that is worth it.

Prices on DDR3 has gone up a bit lately. It depends on prices at the time. I can pay a lttle extra for 1.35v CL8 low profile sticks. 1.5v CL9 feels a bit.. old. But as you say, it's no great power saver.

OK thanks, looking into the MSI too. Where did you get the info that its fan control is better? Based on previous boards?

Well i own an Asus Maximus VI Gene, and now i own an MSI Z87-GD65 and MS H81i, those are my references into my own experiences with both brands. But if you want to read more, i made a petition to Asus for lower restrictions on bios fan control, ASUS Bios fan control request. Dont get me wrong, Asus is fine, hell i still even keep my Gene for testing fans, specially for windows and if you don't mind running AI Suite, FanXpert will override all the bios restrictions and allow you to drop the fans extremely low (dependent on each fan), but on pure bios, at least until Z87 mobos, they were not up to par with MSI and AsRock, on pure PWM fan (3pin they suck also).

But there were changes coming on the Asus H97/Z97, specially from what i read (thats if i understood it correctly) they were implementing the Q-Fan (Auto/Advance) setup for all headers, this allows the fans to be run as PWM or Voltage controlled, but i dont own an H97/Z97 board to confirm, nor i know the restriction on the bios that asus is releasing this new gen of boards, up to you to check it out.

Yes, I'm looking at this thread: but the E35 manual is a bit obscure about actual BIOS capabilities (on the contrary, the H97M-G43 one is very detailled about the Hardware Monitoring features), so that I don't know whether it may actually fit your needs (nor I know how to double check that specific aspect).

So, given that specific MSI board is also a bit crippled (just 2 DIMMs, no heatsinks on power circuitry, and so on), perhaps something like an ASRock H97M Pro4 might be a safer bet (unless you can try and in case return the MSI board with ease): just think about that.

Yes, I'm looking at this thread: but the E35 manual is a bit obscure about actual BIOS capabilities (on the contrary, the H97M-G43 one is very detailled about the Hardware Monitoring features), so that I don't know whether it may actually fit your needs (nor I know how to double check that specific aspect).

So, given that specific MSI board is also a bit crippled (just 2 DIMMs, no heatsinks on power circuitry, and so on), perhaps something like an ASRock H97M Pro4 might be a safer bet (unless you can try and in case return the MSI board with ease): just think about that.What's the point for that specific board?

I think he wanted the Legacy PCI port that the asus had, i just search for something that was similar to what the Asus had, that said if he is willing to lose the PCI slot, i like more your suggestion of the G43, better heatsinks, more ram slots always a good thing.

One thing that i can say, even between the Z87-GD65 (mid-high end mobo) to the H81i (probably the lowest end of MSI), the bios fan control is the same, same restrictions and values. So im guessing (i don't own H97/z97 versions) that it will be the same. Talking about the new MSI mobos, from the TechPowerUp review MSI Z97 GAMING 5 (Intel LGA 1150),

Whats different from mine is that it offer multiple breakpoints (kinda like AsRock did), it has 4, if you see the right has a 12.5% PWM until 40C is achiieved, then 25% PWM until 55C is achieved, 62.5% PWM until 70C is achieved, 75% until 85C is reached. I expect all even low end mobos of MSI have the same thing, again assumptions on my part.

One thing worth mentioning about the fan control on MSI, its very good, but mostly is on their PWM fan headers, in this case is only ONE, CPU_FAN, the rest are voltage controlled and the bios will have 50% as the lowest restriction, so for a very quiet setup my suggestion is,

1) Getting the gelid PWM fan splitter (or akasa or swiftech, i prefer gelid for small amount of fans, easier to manage and hide)2) Get PWM fans with good range of control, Noctua NF-S12A PWM is my personal favorite as it drops to 300rpms easily on PWM control.3) Connect all fans to the PWM splitter and connect the splitter to CPU_FAN motherboard header, dont use any of the SYS_FAN headers.4) Enter bios and go into monitoring look for the CPU_FAN, set 12.5% as the minimum PWM and set 50C for the temperature first temp setting, if you feel the fans are too low on the speed bump it to 25% or create a second breaking point, from here on its all about you testing different settings until you find what you like.

I just build a server build with 7x Noctua NF-S12A PWM and really the fans are inaudible 1mt away at 350rpms, so 2 or 3 will be for sure very quiet.

Pétur wrote:

I can live with 2 memory slots and other restrictions of the MSI, more concerned about compatibility with linux and power usage.

This imo is the most important thing to decide weather you go with MSI or not, all the above is worthless, if you cant run the OS you want due to compatibility issues. You can always manually undervolt with resistors and adapters, or an external fan controller, personally i just love dynamic bios fan control, set it and forget it, instead of managing knobs... but compatibility and stability should be the most important things toward your build.

Btw talking about consumption, there is a new marketing thing from MSI and their new line, MSI Goes Black and Green with its ECO Line of Motherboards, seems more like marketing though, like software to disble ports on windows, same can be achieved by almost any motherboard on bios, so i don't know if its a gimmick or not, either way just pointing out since you mention power consumption =P

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